Alice: Madness Returnsdeveloper Spicy Horse will be working on drastically different games going forward. The studio has received $3 million in funding from Vickers Venture Partners and will be working alongside PopCap Games to create a 3D online version of one of PopCap’s titles for an initial release in Asia. “The sense is that while a lot of social games have built their empires on 2D, there will be a moment where the genre has to shift into 3D, and we want to start that process now,” American McGee tells Gamasutra....

If you wish Bahamut looked asshiny and rain-slick as the dinosaurs in the newTurok, I’ve got good news for you. Square-Enix announced today that they’ve licensed Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 3 for use in development for future games. This marks the first instance of engine outsourcing for Square-Enix and has some sexy,sexyimplications: namely, the hope of multiplatform titles thanks to Unreal Engine 3.0’s impressive portability. From the press release: Square Enix has built its highly successful franchises such as FINAL FANTASY®, DRAGON QUEST® and KINGDOM HEARTS by pushing game consoles to their limits and providing unparalleled user experiences for more than 20 years....

Because Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond weren’t enough, Blizzard has come up with a new multiplayer league for the super-skilledStarCraft IIplayers: Master. This league will house the top two percent of active players in each region, and is now live as a part of patch 1.2 (release notes here). And guess what? There’s actually another one in the works for each region’s 200 finest called Grandmaster. My head hurts....

Having trouble with a side mission in Sucker Punch Productions’inFAMOUS? Nah, we didn’t think you were, either — side missions in the PS3-exclusive are fairly undemanding on the brain. But have you ever wondered what inspired or influenced the design of a side mission? Ah, there we go. We felt a pang of interest. Sony Computer Entertainment and Sucker Punch unloaded threeinFAMOUSvideos yesterday afternoon. Each video will gently guide you through a select side mission....

Newcomers to Massively Multiplayer games, especially fantasy-themed titles, are usually quite disappointed when they ask for a “Tank” and receive some kind of burly man or orc in knight’s armor who says his role is to “pull aggro,” saying the phrase like it was some kind of deviant sex act.Disgusting. Wargaming.net aims to bring the term back to its roots withWorld of Tanks, a team-based Massively Multiplayer action game based on the great tank battles of World War II....

It totally is that face. Totally. Colette looked at some games that give us zen, Jim reviewedLeft 4 Dead 2,God of War IIIwon’t have co-op, Sledgehammer Games is born and more happened on 11/17/09. Destructoid Originals:Podtoid 125 records tonight: Butts, butts, buttsThe Zen of Gaming: What games chill us outGame SERIES Debate to the Death! Super Mario series Community:The wrong thing: The player is playedCheck out these Dtoid themed Forza 3 carsCommunity blogs of11/17/09Forum of the day:Podtoid 124:Gun GoodReviews:Left 4 Dead 2...

Remember how the Sony hate bandwagon went all crazy when it was revealed that the PlayStation 3 would be a bit ahemdifferent in Europe? Well, Phil Harrison has put some of thosebackwards compatibility concernsto rest by saying there would be over 1,000 PlayStation 2 titles available to play on March 23. Speaking with Sony blogThree Speech, he had this to say: Harrison would not be drawn on specific PS2 titles which will be playable on PS3 on March 23, but it seems the only problem we will have is deciding which ones to play: “The situation is changing every day, but on March 23, we expect the list to include over 1,000 PS2 titles....

The latestHalonovel from Thor Books has been released in stores this week.Halo: Evolutionsis a collection of stories from multiple perspectives within theHalouniverse. The book features multiple authors, such as Eric Nylund, Tobias Buckell, Karen Traviss and several more. The one thingHalo 2andHalo 3did horribly wrong was the story. Rather, the lack of story. TheHalonovels, for the most part, fill you in on what has been going on in theHalouniverse. The books have covered very important things such as how the Covenant wars started in the first place and how the SPARTAN IIs were created....

I’ve been playingFinal Fantasy XIIfor the last few days and I’ve come to the realization that SquareEnix needs to be reminded what a real man looks like. Every male character in the game is prettier looking then all the females in the game, except Fran … no one ishotter than Fran. Honestly though, if I see one more male character whose hair makes him look like he’s part bird I am going to scream....

Ignition Entertainment, Ltd has revealed that its title,WarDevil: Enigma, will be exclusive to the Sony PlayStation 3. Hidden within apress releasethat announced UTV Software Communication’s acquisition of a controlling stake of Ignition,WarDevilcreative director Andy Whitehurst seems totally stoked to be working with the PlayStation 3: “The project is being developed exclusively for the Sony Playstation3(tm) and we’re excited to be associated with Sony’s next generation system. WarDevil is designed to leverage not only the videogames properties of the system, but also the Blu-Ray and media rich functions of the PS3 – presenting a unique combination of both Videogame & Motion Picture into a single, unique product, which gives cinematic High Definition content (1080P) in real-time on the PS3....

[Every Friday, Destructoid will pose a topical question to the community. Answer it if you want!] I’m working on a new video about some of the hate that gets poured on theCall of Dutyfranchise, because if there’s one major franchise that’s sure to guarantee a hate parade, it’s that one. Is the hate justified? Do people merely despise the series because it’s popular, or is there something inherently wrong with the franchise?...

Destructoid was giving away aMuscle March-themed Wiifor the entire month of February thanks to Namco Bandai. This is one of only fourMuscle MarchWiis made in the world and Dtoider Artificialagent is the grand prize winner of the console and game. Congratulations, Artificialagent! You went above and beyond to win this prize. Check out all of the entries after the jump as well as in the gallery. Nice try, everyone! We have contests going on every week!...

Last week, I headed out to the Royalton Hotel in midtown Manhattan — yes, the same one that’s mentioned in Kurt Vonnegut’sSlaughterhouse-Five— for the 2008 THQ Holiday Junket (and no, I have no idea why they called it that, either). I played and/or had demoed to me multiple games, and I’ll be bringing you good folks my thoughts on said games for the next few days. First up isDeadly Creatures, a third-person action thriller game that’s being developed for the Wii by Rainbow Studios, the people behind the PS2’sATV Offroad Furygames....